Search form

SSA Drops High-Speed Ferry Idea

NANTUCKET - Signaling an abrupt shift in direction on the
ambitious new service model, Steamship Authority general manager Armand
Tiberio said yesterday that the boat line will ax two key elements of
the model, including the controversial scheme to replace all three
ferries on the Nantucket run with one multipurpose high-speed ferry.

"If we are not going to be able to use technology - if
the position is that a high-speed vessel is not okay, then so be
it," Mr. Tiberio said.

Mr. Tiberio also said the plan to shift freight traffic onto barges
will be abandoned.

"Barging - I don't think it's going to work
- we need to take a look at some other options. I don't
believe that over the long haul freight on a barge is the answer,"
he said. "We're pretty much back to square one on the issue
of freight," he added.

Mr. Tiberio offered no detailed explanation for the decision.

His comments came during the regular monthly boat line board meeting
held on Nantucket yesterday morning.

The meeting was marked by a tactical retreat of sorts on the
controversial Nantucket portion of the service model.

Last month, 800 people turned out for a public hearing on Nantucket
to express their unanimous objection to the service model and the
conceptual plan to replace all three ferries on the Nantucket run with a
single multipurpose high-speed ferry.

Three days later, SSA board chairman J.B. Riggs Parker called the
Nantucket mandate uninformed, and he and Falmouth member Edward DeWitt
vowed to press ahead with the service model.

"When I say you, I mean Nantucket. There is not going to be a
single three-tiered high-speed ferry to Nantucket," Mr. DeWitt
said. "I have always had some concerns about the three-tiered
ferry," the Falmouth governor said later in the meeting.

"It's a good day for Nantucketers. This certainly
demonstrates that the board of governors listens," said Tim
Soverino, chairman of the Nantucket selectmen.

The announcement about the change in direction on the service model
came amid continued expressions about the need to find solutions to the
growing tangle of long-range planning problems confronting the boat
line.

"I think we still have the challenge - in my mind I
still think there is a list of very critical issues, and I think we need
to keep those issues on the radar screen," Mr. Tiberio said.

Only SSA board chairman and Vineyard governor J.B. Riggs Parker
appeared to cling to a rigid position, reiterating the same warning
speech he issued to the people of Nantucket on the night of their public
hearing last month.

"It's important for everybody to understand that you
can't have it both ways. Choices have consequences. Are you
prepared to pay for the cost of continuing with the existing
service?" Mr. Parker said.

But Mrs. Grossman told Mr. Parker that there is still no real basis
for believing that the service model would save money on the Nantucket
run.

"We don't have any information that really shows us
[savings under the service model]," she said.

Aimed at developing a 10-year strategic plan for the boat line, the
service model was unveiled four months ago.

The key concepts in the model included the futuristic high-speed
ferry to Nantucket, the plan to shift freight traffic onto barges, and a
plan to shift Vineyard-bound passenger traffic from Woods Hole to New
Bedford.

If boat line managers now plan to abandon the high-speed ferry plan
on the Nantucket run, Mrs. Grossman questioned the need to go forward
with a two-day symposium on high-speed ferries next month.

But Mr. Tiberio, Mr. Parker and Mr. DeWitt all said the symposium
will be a good forum for information.

"I think we should be as educated as we can be in terms of our
options," Mr. DeWitt said.

Mrs. Grossman predicted that it will be more about hearing a sales
pitch.

"These are all shipyards [that have been invited to the
symposium]. They're salesmen," Mrs. Grossman said.

Mr. Tiberio said the symposium is tentatively planned for June 14
and 15. The place has not been decided yet.

In other business yesterday, boat line governors also approved a
rare mid-season fare increase amid an increasingly dire financial report
from boat line treasurer Wayne Lamson.

The fare increase was first proposed last month, as Mr. Lamson
reported escalating costs from legal bills, rising debt and projected
operating losses on the Schamonchi ferry run between New Bedford and the
Vineyard this summer.

The fare increases will take effect June 1 and will include:

* A 50-cent increase in adult passenger fares.

* A $2 increase in auto excursion fares.

* A five per cent increase in freight rates for trucks over 20
feet in length.

* Extra barge unloading rates at the Nantucket terminal.

* An 18 per cent annual finance charge on unpaid bills over 30
days old.

Mr. Lamson said the fare increase is expected to net the boat line
some $986,000 in additional revenues in the next four to five months,
but he said it still may be necessary to dip into reserve funds for debt
payments before the end of the year.

He projected that the boat line will end the year with an operating
gain of about $2 million, but the treasurer warned that the numbers are
uncertain, especially against a backdrop of lower-than-expected advance
bookings for cars for the coming summer.

Also yesterday the SSA board approved a license request from the
owners of Hy-Line Cruises to replace the high-speed passenger ferry Grey
Lady II with a new and larger high-speed ferry.

Hy-Line owners want to build a new 300-passenger Grey Lady to
replace the 149-passenger ferry that operates year-round between Hyannis
and Nantucket.

The new ferry plan includes a plan to retire the Point Gammon, a
conventional passenger ferry operated by the Hy-Line. Hy-Line owners
want to operate the new Grey Lady at capacity for only two of the six
daily trips, and they plan to carry only a maximum of 149 passengers on
the rest of the trips.

The request was approved by the boat line board, but Mr. Tiberio
said he has not yet developed a recommendation of what fee to charge the
Hy-Line for the replacement Grey Lady operation.

Currently the Hy-Line pays the SSA 10 per cent of all fares
collected for more than 40 passengers. Mr. Tiberio said management will
return to the SSA board for approval of a new license fee within 30 to
90 days.

Murray Scudder, one member of the family that owns the Hy-Line, said
yesterday that the decision about whether to replace the Grey Lady II
will depend on the license fee.

Public discussion over the Hy-Line request quickly strayed into a
broader discussion among Nantucket residents about the pros and cons of
high-speed ferry service, especially the environmental impacts. On
Wednesday the Nantucket selectmen voted to support the Hy-Line license
request, but yesterday selectman Matt Fee told the board that the vote
was 3-2, and he said there are some concerns.

"Sometimes we go full speed ahead on things without knowing what
we are doing and why," he said.